The Spice Girls will perform at Sunderland AFC’s Stadium of Light in the first of a new series of concerts at the venue.

The group, who scored nine number one chart hits between 1996 and 2000, have reunited for live shows in 2019; they will be supported by top-selling English artist and singer-songwriter, Jess Glynne.

Councillor Graeme Miller, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said:

“This is fantastic news for the city. It’s a real coup that they have chosen Sunderland as one of the venues for their Spice World tour.”

“The return of concerts to the Stadium of Light is a brilliant opportunity to showcase Sunderland and the wider region on the world stage, building on the success of the Tall Ships Races and our growing reputation as an events city.

“We know from past experience that stadium concerts bring thousands of people into the city, with each concert generating around £3.5m of spending in the city’s bars, restaurants and hotels. We also know visitor expenditure in Sunderland last year was worth £429m to the city’s economy, with 5,309 jobs supported by tourism, so it’s really important for the council to support events like this to help our businesses to grow and thrive.”

Tony Davison, Managing Director at SAFC, said:

“The Stadium of Light has hosted some of the biggest names in music, welcoming over half a million concert goers since 2009. It has become known as one of the best concert venues in the north east. We are absolutely thrilled that the Spice Girls have chosen our club to play a part in this very special reunion tour.

“We are passionate about to promoting the city and region on a world stage. We are really looking forward to welcoming people from the North East – and beyond – to the Stadium of Light.”

The concert takes place on the 6th of June; tickets go on sale at 10:30am on Saturday 10 November.